Home > A congressman who’s criticized Sinclair is up for re-election, and Sinclair’s chief political analyst is helping his challenger fundraise

A congressman who’s criticized Sinclair is up for re-election, and Sinclair’s chief political analyst is helping his challenger fundraise

Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

Sinclair Broadcast Group chief political analyst Boris Epshteyn is helping a Republican congressional candidate fundraise -- and she’s running against a Sinclair critic.

On July 12, Epshteyn tweeted[1] criticism of Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)’s opening statement[2] in the congressional hearing with FBI agent Peter Strzok, in which Nadler mentioned the ongoing family separation crisis[3] at the Mexican border caused by Trump administration policies. In his criticism, Epshteyn also tagged Nadler’s Republican challenger[4] in the 2018 midterm elections, Naomi Levin.

Levin responded[5] to the tweet with more criticism of Nadler and then shared[6] a link to a donation page for her campaign -- and Epshteyn retweeted the link to his nearly 32,000 followers.

Nadler has previously criticized Sinclair, signing[7] onto a letter[8] to Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley last fall demanding more information about the company’s pending acquisition[9] of Tribune Media. Nadler was also one of 85 lawmakers who called[10] for a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigation of Sinclair in 2004, when the broadcasting group planned[11] to mandate that its stations air an anti-John Kerry documentary shortly before the presidential election.

The acquisition, should it be approved by the Trump Department of Justice and FCC, would bring[12] a Sinclair station[13] (WPIX, which it is poised to buy from Tribune) to Nadler’s district[14], which covers parts of New York City, for the first time.